All Things Policy

Is it possible for AI to be racist? When Google's AI chatbot 'Gemini' launched a new text-to-image feature on February 1st, it received a barrage of accusations on social media for possessing an inherent reluctance towards generating images of light-skinned, Caucasian people. These accusations came after instances where the Founding Fathers were shown to be Native American and East Asi...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Kripa Koshy and Saurabh Todi discuss the recent controversy around the high sugar content in Nestle baby food in certain countries. They discuss the need for informed regulation and better compliance in India. A new course on Unpacking Urban Governance on OpenTakshashila is now accepting applications. Click here for more information.

In this episode, Ashwin Prasad quizzes Saurabh Todi on the recent Trilateral Technology Dialogue in Seoul. With a focus on strengthening supply chain resilience and fostering trade partnerships, Saurabh provides insights into the significance of this event. Join them as they unravel the discussions, explore key outcomes, and analyze the implications for technology geopolitics.

The Parliament recently passed legislation called the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, aimed at curbing cheating and upholding the integrity of public examinations. How does the new law safeguard the public recruitment system against malpractices, such as paper leaks, and help to address the problem of state capacity shortfall? In this episode of All Things Policy, Carl...

Two weeks after a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria, Tehran launched a massive drone and missile attack on Israel last Saturday. What does this mean for an already explosive situation in West Asia? Will the exchange of fire between the two countries lead to a larger regional conflagration? Sachin Kalbag and Yusuf Unjhawala discuss in the latest episode of All Thin...

In early April, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha travelled to China for his first foreign visit since taking office. While no major deals or breakthroughs were reported, this signalled a new proximity between the two countries. In this episode, Manoj Kewalramani talks to author and journalist Amish Raj Mulmi about the recent developments in China-Nepal ties. Check out Takshashila&#39...

Join Dr Nithyanandam, a Professor from Takshashila Institution and Mr Varun Sridharan, Co-founder and CEO of Greenvironment Innovation & Marketing India (P) Ltd, in a captivating podcast episode where they delve into the critical need for wastewater management in the Indian context. Amid the water scarcity crisis affecting southern cities, they explore sustainable solutions and technological a...

In this episode, 'Willingness to make a Will,' Sowmya Prabhakar is in conversation with Niranjan Vemulkar & Nikhil Varghese to navigate through the why, what, how, and when of having a will in place. We draw insights from the Succession Act, data on unclaimed assets such as Demat accounts & the nomination process. It's important to understand the opportunity cost and the inform...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Anushka Saxena of Takshashila quizzes Neha Mishra, Executive Officer at CII and a fellow with the pioneer cohort of Takshashila's Network for Advanced Study of China (NASC) Fellowship, on China's dominance in critical minerals supply chains. Neha discusses the findings from her Fellowship paper vis-a-vis China's policy architecture on critical minerals, the ch...

In this episode of All Things Policy hosted by Amit Kumar, Dr Michael Pettis, Professor of Finance at Peking University and Senior Fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP), answers several critical questions about China's economy. Dr. Pettis weighs on what China's domestic consumption situation looks like; the underlying contradiction between domestic consumption and export poli...

In this episode of All Things Policy, Professor C Raja Mohan, Visiting Research Professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, and Wini Fred Gurung, Communications Manager at the Takshashila Institution, discuss the complexities of India's foreign policy, exploring its perspectives on the global landscape, significant shifts in approach over the past decade, a...

human-animal conflict, wildlife conservation, India, Malathi Renati, Humane Society International, Vinod Krishnan, Shubhra Sotie, government, markets, society, wildlife experts, conservation efforts, environmental protection, biodiversity, conservation challenges, conservation successes, wildlife management, wildlife protection

What services do urban local bodies in India provide? Where do they get their revenues from? To what extent are these bodies self-reliant? What factors contribute to their financial vulnerability? In this episode of All Things Policy, Sarthak Pradhan and Suman Joshi give an overview of the state of municipal finances in India.

In the past, people had many more children than they do today. There has been a global decline in the fertility rate since 1950. India's fertility rate has been going down steadily from 5.9 in the year 1960 to 2 in 2021. In this episode of All Things Policy, Anushka Saxena, Shreya Ramakrishnan, and Sridhar Krishna discuss this and also the changing social norms and aspirations of women.

The past few weeks saw two key forums being held China, the China Development Forum and the Boao Forum for Asia Conference. These shed light into China’s economic and foreign policy priorities. In this episode, Amit Kumar and Manoj Kewalramani decode the messages that Beijing is sending to the world.

China has issued guidelines for governmental procurement of laptops, PCs, and servers that will gradually replace Intel and AMD processors with homegrown CPUs. Join Rijesh and Satya in this episode of Siliconpolitik as they attempt to decipher China's chipmaking capabilities in the broader context of US sanctions against its semiconductor sector. Recommended reading: https://hightechir.substack.co...

Synthetic or artificially generated data is often an important input for training AI systems. As such systems make important decisions that affect our lives, Bharath Reddy and Shobhankita Reddy explore what it is and how it could impact us.

In the final episode of the special limited series Police Chowki, Javeed Ahmad (former IPS officer & DGP of Uttar Pradesh) and Shrikrishna Upadhyaya take stock of policing in India. They discuss the trajectory of the show and reflect on key takeaways from the conversations had so far, such as, policing as a public good, state capacity in police, social and economic cost of bad policing, and buildi...

Is India ready to assume a greater role in global semiconductor value chains? In this edition of SiliconPolitik, Satya Sahu quizzes Stephen Ezell, VP of Global Innovation Policy, ITIF, on their recent report assessing the challenges and opportunities for India in this critical sector.

Pune is one of India's fastest growing cities, but also one that is crying for its transport infrastructure to be transformed, even overhauled. What are the areas of concern, and how can policymakers work with civil society and the government to make this happen? Sachin Kalbag of Takshashila and Pune's leading subject matter expert Sanskriti Menon, Senior Programme Director at the Centre for Envir...

It is now clear that the 2024 US presidential election will once again feature a contest between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Beijing, of course, will be keenly watching the campaign unfold over the next few months. But as things stand today, who would the mandarins in Zhongnanhai prefer as the next occupant of the White House? Listen in as Takshashila’s China watchers debate China’s choice.

India urgently requires substantial investment in climate adaptation efforts to sustain progress on development. Recognizing the criticality of the impact of climate change for development and growth, India has anchored its adaptation approach within the country’s wider development goals. While the government has endeavoured to finance adaptation initiatives, adaptation investment needs at the nat...

In this podcast episode, Ms. Shreya Ramakrishnan and Dr. Nithiyanandam discuss recent developments along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh, focusing on two specific settlements. Dr. Nithiyananda's recent article in the Takshashila Geospatial Bulletin provides significant insights highlighted in the discussion. The podcast covers geopolitical intricacies, emphasizes the importance of sate...

In this episode of ATP, Shambhavi Naik and Saurabh Todi discuss the recent completion of the 10,000 Genome Project and the importance of collecting such data for medical research.

Unified Healthcare Interface (UHI) is India’s next digital public infrastructure (DPI), following earlier DPIs in payments (UPI), commerce (ONDC) and credit (OCEN). In this episode, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya speaks to Rhea Singh (Project Lead, ABDM, NHA) and Akhil Siddharth (Project Associate, NHA) from the International Innovation Corps on the potential of UHI, challenges and opportunities. They disc...